Wed.
17 June: Kingston: Rediscovering the K&P Railway Line
The other week, I found a fairly recent AMA/CAA street
map of Kingston, which showed the K&P Trail all the way through to the City
Hall, as a series of tiny green dots.
This trail doesn’t actually exist.
But perhaps it is a dream of a group of citizens one day to have a
walking/biking trail all the way down the long-ago abandoned Kingston and Pembroke railway line (or as much of it as possible) from Binnington Court to
the City Hall.
Today I set out to explore that route. First, I discovered some fascinating old air
photo maps of Kingston, dating back to the 1950’s. From these maps I was able to follow the
route of the K&P line as it headed out of town. I then captured that information onto my own
chart. The route shown on the AMA street
map proved to be quite accurate, for the most part. Here is the website for these maps of old Kingston:
https://www.cityofkingston.ca/explore/maps/historical
If you follow the route of the railway line, it is
between seven and eight kilometres from Kingston Station, in front of City Hall,
to the official start of the K&P Trail at Binnington Court. I was able to bike along the rail-bed for at
least half of this distance, and could trace the route the entire way. There were sections which have disappeared
altogether, but you could still figure out where the line had run.
It surprises me, looking back, that the City Fathers
had allowed a railway terminus to be built directly in front of City Hall,
beside Lake Ontario. Granted, the small
station building, which survives today as the Tourist Information Centre, is
quite attractive. However, perhaps the
legislators found it such a convenience to be able to walk down the steps of
City Hall, and directly onto a waiting train, that they overlooked the less
attractive side of it.
A brightly polished old steam engine sits beside the
station building, as far as I can tell in exactly the position it would have
stood at the end of the line. Today, the
area is now Confederation Park, a beautiful waterfront park (where our own kids
played a quarter century ago). This
whole section of waterfront has been redeveloped, with hotels and car parks. But I was able to follow the route of the
line as it left the station and headed first east, then north beside Kingston Inner Harbour, paralleling
today’s Rideau Street.
The line then curved northwest then north, crossing
the CN rail tracks before bending northwest again on its way out of town. When they built John Counter Boulevard, that
section of line, where it crossed over the top of the CN tracks, was lost. But a short distance to the west, the high
bridge carrying Division Street over the railway tracks, built in the 1960’s I
guess, also bridges the route of the K&P line, which paralleled the CN
route at that point.
Approaching Binnington Court, the line paralleled the
route of the “new” Toronto-Montreal Highway 401. When the John A. MacDonald Boulevard intersection and also the French High School were built, that section of K&P line was
lost. But overall, I found no difficulty in following the line, arriving safely
at the official start of the K&P Trail, and wondering if there are any plans to
extend the trail into the heart of Kingston.
These pictures might be of interest.
Note: single-click on the first picture above to scroll through the photos separately
 |
| The route of the K&P is shown as a dotted black line |
 |
| Kingston Station scene as it may have looked in the days of steam |
 |
| The station building as seen from the tracks |
 |
| End of line, looking east |
 |
| The tracks left the station beside Lake Ontario, curving slightly left |
 |
| Waterfront, east of Princess Street - note curving line of buildings |
 |
| Same scene (reverse view) from the age of steam |
 |
View North from Ontario Street. The line curved to the left,
between where the K-Rock Centre and modern houses now sit. |
 |
Kingston Marina parking lot. This was once a marshalling yard for trains.
The line crosses the area directly ahead. |
 |
| Route of the line along Wellington Street |
 |
| Continuation of what is now Wellington Street - river park to the right |
 |
| Heading north through park beside Kingston Inner Harbour - graffiti to the left. |
 |
| Some more examples of the graffiti |
 |
| Route blocked at Cataraqui Street, but visible (view north) |
 |
| Route is clear north of River Street, running parallel to Rideau Street |
 |
| Line curves NW at the junction of Montreal/Rideau/Railway streets |
 |
| Hidden section of line north of Railway Street, heading WNW |
 |
| Route runs straight through what is now the back lot of a trucking company |
 |
At Elliott Ave. and Day Street, line is not accessible.
Just north of here it crossed the CN tracks (now also John Counter Blvd)
then swung to the NW under the Division St. bridge |
 |
Division Street bridge at the rail tracks, looking west.
This is the route of the K&P. CN tracks to the left. |
 |
View from top of Division St. bridge looking NW.
CN tracks on left, and the K&P heading to NW. |
 |
| From Division St.bridge looking west. K&P route is clear. |
 |
| West of Division St. New surface. K&P heading NW |
 |
| Route still bikeable - just east of St. Remy Place |
 |
| At St. Remy Place/Dalton Ave. looking NW |
 |
Beside the 401 west of Sir John A MacDonald Blvd.
Line paralleled the highway here - seems to have disappeared. |
 |
Official start of K&P Trail. Path runs north
a short distance to intersect with the rail line |
 |
| Cataraqui Creek: New bridge uses the old rail parapets... |
 |
| ...which were built in 1929 |
 |
| On the K&P at Cataraqui Creek, looking west (see previous blog) |
